HomeBizNotes.comIn previous posts, I discussed working with an expert to help you in your home business and facing the fact that You May Be the Expert. You’re still uncertain you’re an expert. How do you become one…in a skill, a hobby, your home business?

Finding that unique skill or talent. Perhaps it’s even a new one.
Learning all you can.
Taking classes and workshops.
Practice, practice, practice.
Realizing you do know more about your topic than many others.

So now you’re ready to speak to small groups, then larger ones. You’ll find others are coming to you because you’re the expert who can inform, entertain, and …read more

HomeBizNotes.com
   Odd Couple Project
Bob Turek, at ProjectManagement411, is partnering with me in a b5media Business Channel Odd Couple project. Our assignment is to consider:  At current rates, Social Security payouts will exceed payments made into the system within the next ten years. What should we do about Social Security?
He mentions possible solutions as he considers two extremes advocated by political candidates Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee in his post, Counting on Social Security? Your Next Project Better Be Your Retirement Plan.
Social Security and the Home Business Owner
My object is to consider this topic from the viewpoint of the home …read more

  As we approach Week #7 in the “apprentice” b5 Business Channel challenge, we’re to find for Kay, our prototype business owner, one post that will help her, inspire her, encourage her when she’s too busy to wade through the volumes of information on the web.
Kay, Enjoy the Journey of Your Home Business . When you’re frustrated, hurried, facing the balancing act between business and family, remember why you’re doing this…and discover joy in the journey. Look at your accomplishments and activities each day, no matter how small; enjoy and celebrate those along the way. This will make it easier to …read more

In this age of often less customer contact, with a great deal of shopping taking place over the Internet, some home business owners find an increase in their business if they make home visits. This doesn’t mean being a salesperson who stops by the home, only to find no one there.
Make appointments to conduct your services at your customer/client’s homes, deliver products, adapt to their personal needs. An article at Seattlepi.com, Mobile business owners find personal touch is worth hassles, by Mary Ann Albright, relates the experiences of several who’ve taken their business to this level.
“By being …read more

 Eating disorders can affect anyone, male and female and almost every age.  Often these conditions interfere with one’s ability to work well at their business, their craft, their profession.  These disorders generally range from eating too much and of the wrong type of food to eating too little.  Any of these can play havoc with your health, lead to other situations and cause you to be less productive.  (I know…I’ve been there…read below.) 
New Eating Disorder Blog 
 If you’re experiencing any of these situations and desire to learn more about eating disorders or find someone who understands what you’re going through, visit the new b5media blog, …read more

A tip of the hat to Laura Spencer at Work From Home Momma, who has alerted me to the fact that this week is National Work From Home Week (October 1st – 8th). Let’s make it an International Celebration.
Connect With Other Home Business Owners
As home business owners, we are often isolated in our own little cocoons. What a wonderful idea to celebrate as one group with common interests.
Even if you can’t get to any formal National Work From Home Week events, there are ways we can connect all the same. This special week is a great recognition of a growing …read more

We generally like to learn about other’s success stories that give us the feeling…
“Ah! If she/he can do that, I can be successful with my business” 
Or…“What a great tip!  I’ll have to try that with my home business.”
Over the existence of Home Biz Notes, I’ve interviewed and mentioned numerous home business.  I’ll round up some of these in case you missed them…or are at a point in your business where some of these tips now will inspire you.
*Mark Allen operates an online business through the utilization of CafePress as his “store.”
*Dorothy Thompson has discovered that the Internet offers her the opportunity to …read more

“Are you a risk taker?” Darlene McDaniel asks her readers at Small Business Boomers.
As I read her post and considered its relevance to home business owners, I realized that , “YES, Home Business Owners generally are risk takers.”  If fact they have to be to delve into a business from or at home, often leaving a full time job.  The degree of risk will vary depending on the business you choose and your circumstances.
However, as Darlene says, “Risk taking is a prerequisite for any entrepreneur.  No matter how you slice it, there is never a guarantee with any business.”
You may …read more